Reminisce
by grieverwings
Summary: Not long after the final battles, Rikku goes off to be alone and sorts through memories of their journey together. Aurikku, onesided...?
1. Part 1

It had been a sad day. To be honest… their whole journey had really been sad. Not feelings sad, since their journey had been filled with friendships and laughter. Sad as in… pathetic, she decided. It had been pathetic to traverse all over a continent to play their part in the never-ending cycle of death, to mindlessly feed a false hope. Now, as the age of a monstrosity came to a crashing end, what did they have to show for it? Everything, since a whole world had now been forever robbed of the only true fear they had, and yet nothing. Nothing but broken hearts and shattered remains.

In one long, sad day they'd had multiple things ripped unceremoniously out from underneath them, and the girl cowering in one corner of her room could only take so much. By now, she'd nearly reached her limit for a year, let alone a day. She had watched her friend regain and lose a father, another friend lose her love, the whole world lose their rock for the past thousand years, and she had felt the crushing pain of losing someone herself.

In the beginning, she told herself that it was merely respect, a fondness for the one that granted the lot of them so much wisdom and experience. By the time it was too late, she knew she was merely fooling herself. There was respect, there was a fond feeling, but there was even more then that… there had been trust, emotions, and a sort of forbidden tang that brought the whole thing to a close. She knew she wasn't supposed to love him, but that made it all the more majestic when they locked eyes, or when they briefly made contact. Of course, the thought of him returning her feelings, while giving her heart a jumpstart, was impossible for her to even imagine. It would never happen. She was a foolish girl, inexperienced and idiotic. There was no way.

As the tell-tale sounds of celebration rang up from the streets below them, she heard a quiet sobbing coming from the room next to her. So much was now gone… and no one would know the whole truth. No one would remember the brave young man who refused to accept the truths. No one would speak of the beautiful creatures that had been responsible for their lives. What pained her most, however, was the legend that she knew no one would ever mention again. She wished she could leave this spot and go to comfort her best friend, her family, but… she couldn't bring herself to move.

She tried to forget everything, to keep her thoughts away from memories that would break her heart. Of course, things didn't work her way. They never had.

_-.-.-.-_

"Oh, no… we're here…" Rikku whispered, staring up into the darkened sky. Almost instantly, a lightning bolt struck the ground not far off, making her shriek in terror as thunder echoed above her. Thankfully, it hit one of the lightning towers and not her.

"How are we supposed to cross that?" Tidus asked disbelievingly. Lulu gestured to the lightning towers scattered across the plain.

"See the lightning-rod towers? The lightning is drawn to them… hopefully." Wakka grinned happily, like he had no other wish than to cross the deadly Thunder Plains, and jerked his head towards one of the towers.

"We head north, not too near and not too far from the towers, ya?" Rikku really didn't care; she didn't want to be here in the first place. Screw the towers, she wanted to go home! No longer listening, she clapped her hands over her ears and looked wistfully at the place where they had come from.

"I think I forgot something in Guadosalam!" she invented wildly. Auron snorted as he walked past her confidently, his eye narrowed slightly against the pouring rain.

"Nice knowing you," he half-lied. He wasn't in the best mood after listening to Seymour nearly blow his secret in front of everyone. That, and Rikku was beginning to get extremely irritating. As another bolt of lightning struck, she shrieked again and pressed closer to the group, searching warily for another bolt.

"Okay, okay! I'll go!" she cried. As the group pressed on, occasionally dodging a bolt or two of lightning and stopping to heal under the towers, Rikku became more and more disoriented. Tripping over nothing and getting hit by various fiends because she jumped in their way by accident after starting from a lightning-strike, the others noticed that she was a total wreck. While they walked, she did a sort of shuffle, knees locked in a bent position with her head hunched down. Finally, growing extremely tired of her shenanigans, Auron opened his mouth to say something before-

BOOM! Two bolts of lightning struck the same tower at once. Tidus and Yuna respectively gasped in horror at the thought that it could've been them instead of the tower. Wakka laughed loudly as he stared up at the tower with a stupid grin on his face. "Whoa! That was a close one, eh?" he chuckled. Frown plastered on face, Lulu moved past Wakka while giving him the sternest look she'd given for years.

"Stop kidding around," she snapped. He hung his head in disgrace.

"Yes, ma'am…" he said quickly. This amused Rikku greatly, but with fear constricting her vocal chords all she could muster was a faint and somewhat creepy imitation of laughter. Picking himself up again, Wakka raised an eyebrow and stared at Rikku. "Hmm? What's wrong?" he asked. Rikku merely continued her odd laugh and stared in fear at their environment.

"Eh heh heh…" Tidus imitated, "You're giving me the creeps!" he complained. With another lightning strike and a booming roll of thunder, Rikku cried out once more, covered her ears, and fell to the ground almost lifelessly.

Now Auron began to mentally panic. He would not be able to live with himself if he knew that the great Sir Auron had been awful to a young girl just a short while before she collapsed and died. Fighting a mental battle with himself, the instant he decided to make sure she was still breathing was the same instant that Rikku launched herself onto all fours, pressed close to the ground, and clamored with alarming speed towards Tidus's leg and latched herself onto him.

"I wanna go home! I hate lightning! I hate thunder!" Her head whirring around wildly, she caught sight of an inn in the distance and pointed, still clinging to Tidus's leg. "Let's go rest over there! Please?"

"This storm never stops. Better to cross quickly," Auron said bluntly. Rikku looked up at him with the most pathetic look she could muster, though the effect was lessened by the fact that she was still attached to the young guardian's leg.

"I know, but…" she tried to say. Tidus yelped in pain as her nails dug into his leg; another strike of lightning hit a lightning tower not far off. "Just for a little while?" He chuckled, trying to pry Rikku's fingers from him.

"Well, what now?" Heaving a sigh, Auron began to walk towards the Travel Agency not far off. She cheered, letting go of her friend's leg and charged ahead full-speed for the building. Laughing a little, Wakka scratched the back of his neck as they walked.

"She must really hate thunder, eh?" he said. Lulu shrugged, smiling a little at the young girl bouncing and waiting for them to catch up underneath a lightning tower.

"Come on, come on, let's go!" she said excitedly. Auron stopped nearby her, raising an eyebrow and frowning from behind his collar.

"We're not staying. We stop to heal, and then continue." Leaving the girl with her mouth gaping open, he stalked past and walked up the path to the agency.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she cried as the others continued to walk past her. Finally, after her odd shuffling brought her to the agency's door, she stared as the rest of the group, even Tidus, began to walk towards the plains again. Her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of continuing their perilous trek, shivering madly as she clung to a metal sort of thing coming off of the Agency's roof. "Pretty please? Just for a few minutes?" she begged. As they kept walking, she tried again, telling herself that they merely hadn't heard her. "I'm scared of lightning! Let's rest, please? Pretty please? I'm too young to die!" By now, it didn't look like they were coming back.

Now she began to get irritated. Didn't they care about her? Did they just want her to collapse of fear or exhaustion? Fury building up inside of her, she shouted after them "You're mean… cruel! Your moms would be ashamed of you!" Finally, sighing, they turned around and stared at her while she cried "Are you having fun doing this to me?"

"Fine. We rest," Auron snapped. Moving past her, he yanked open the door and sighed as the others walked calmly inside. "She's worse than the storm," he muttered to himself. Rikku jumped happily once inside, glad to be away from the dangers of death, but not before giving Auron a furious glare. The more she traveled with him, the more she made him out to be a big 'meanie', as she put it. From most of his reactions, he didn't care about her or anyone else. He seemed merely obsessed with playing delivery boy as he handed poor Yuna to her demise.

Well, she wasn't going to let him get to her! Standing confidently, planting her hands on hips, Rikku raised her head triumphantly to the roof and made a vow, with the dreaded lightning as her witness, that she would find a way to save her cousin! However, in the midst of this epiphany, another bolt of lightning sent her, once more, to her knees. She'd save Yuna, that is, if she made it out of here alive.

_-.-.-.-_

Laughing through her tears, Rikku fiddled absent-mindedly with the end of the miniature braids in her hair, letting her fingers graze the feathers sadly. They'd all been so foolishly blind back then. They had all been blind to the innermost workings of Yevon, but Rikku had been the most wrong about Auron. She knew that now, of course, but… if she had known it then, a lot of awful conversations and arguments could have been avoided.

And yet, despite his almost constant self-inflicted separation from the group, he still had always maintained a steady composure in the face of battles or tough situations. There had been many of those, of course, since a pilgrimage didn't come without minor setbacks or snags, but during every single one their oldest member had kept a cool head. He had been calm and collected during their battles with Seymour, whenever there was a crisis on hand, any time he was needed, really. Still, there were a few times when he amazed all of them with a sudden display of emotion. One minute he'd be riled, or upset, or even angry, but then the next he'd be the same old guardian again. It was part of hanging around a grumpy un-sent, she supposed.

_-.-.-.-_

Rikku watched with tears in her eyes as her home was destroyed right in front of her. Even if it was for the sake of their people, it still saddened her to know that most of her earthly possessions were now amidst burning flames or shattered into microscopic bits. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Auron looking at her ponderously, but when she raised her head he was turned away. Perhaps she was imagining it.

"Hey, look. Don't get so down," Wakka said, trying to be comforting. For a moment, Rikku almost appreciated it before her face fell in anger. "Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?"

"You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!" she snapped. Tears threatening to pour down her face, she mustered up what dignity she had left and stalked from the room. Once outside, she sniffled briefly and moved down a few hallways, having become familiar with the ship after they'd found it in the ocean. Pressing a few buttons, a mechanical door slid open as she laid eyes on her secret spot.

She had found it some time after Sin had attacked the ship they'd found it on, exploring the aircraft with a curious nature. Cid had commanded that they describe practically every aspect of the airship to him, but as she found the spot she had decided that it was her right to keep it. The room was almost like a closet, small enough to go unnoticed yet large enough to hold a teenager, a lamp, and a few pillows. She had left a few things inside, like a photo of her family taken just a few short months ago. Clutching the photograph to her chest, she sat down on one of the pillows and let the tears flow down her cheeks.

Some time later, she emerged from the room wiping tears from her eyes and trying to regain her composure. Completely drawn into her own world, Rikku was only brought back to Spira when she felt herself collide with something large and solid. Feeling something grasp her arm and keep her from falling, Rikku looked up to see Auron standing directly in front of her. "Oh," she said quietly, her lip trembling from holding back more tears. "'Scuse me," she muttered, attempting to slide around him and continue back to the cockpit. However, as she tried to step away she found that he had not let her go. Slowly turning to face him, Rikku looked over the rim of his sunglasses and past his collar to peer into his eye. There was something inside it that made him look… different. It seemed to hold a sort of pain, or even a great sadness… Auron never showed emotions like that.

"I am… sorry," he whispered, staring right back at her tear-strained eyes with great force. Before Rikku could respond, he dropped her arm and turned around, walking away slowly. She stood and watched him go, pondering the amazing enigma that was a legendary guardian. Perhaps she'd been wrong about him back in the Thunder Plains; maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Smiling briefly, though enough to make the room a bit brighter, she followed her original plan and headed back to the bridge.

"Feeling better?" Lulu asked as she walked into the room. Rikku nodded, briefly glancing at the shadow that was Auron's composed figure. All traces of emotion she had seen previously were now wiped from his face, replaced with a stern and cold look directed every so often in the Al Bhed leader's direction. No, she decided, Auron wasn't bad at all. Even if he still was a big grump.

_-.-.-.-_

Tears were spilling all the more down her face as Rikku ran out of happy memories. She had even sorted through some of the less meaningful ones: stolen glances that were reciprocated, the occasional moment alone, all things that she still cherished since they were all she had left. However, the one moment that she did not want to relive was now pulsing relentlessly through her mind, a drum soundlessly beating against her brain and forcing the image in front of her eyes.

Letting out a cry of fear, Rikku squeezed her eyes shut in attempts to stop the image from flooding through her mind. Of course, there it was: that sad look he had given her over the top of his sunglasses as he moved past. She had stared on helplessly as his gaze, she hoped, lingered on her for maybe a second longer then it was supposed to. Even now, as she tried to hold onto that gaze for as long as possible she watched both gaze and man fade away into nothing but a memory.

The sharp pains in her chest were unbearable, so many unsaid things mounting on top of her until she felt as though she weighed a thousand pounds. Finally, Rikku gave in to the pressure of a broken heart, allowing the shattered remains of memories and dreams to wave shiningly as it mocked everything she had depended on for such a long time.

_-.-.-.-_

Yuna danced as she had never danced before, a beautiful yet eerie light cast upon her from the shadows of flickering spirits seeking for their eternal rest. The others were captivated, watching her send all that remained of a fallen dynasty with a silent resolve. Even Rikku, normally unable to stay in one place for too long, stood and stared with a sort of peace filling her heart. Tidus looked, she noticed as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, as though his heart was breaking. She understood. It was tough for him, especially since he had confessed that he would be gone soon. She imagined that he was taking in as much as he could, and hoping to engrave their faces onto his mind forever.

Rikku smiled a little, watching her cousin with a heavy heart. This was, she knew, the last time they would all be together like this. However, she decided to look past his soon-to-be disappearance and imagined what it would be like if it wouldn't happen. Maybe he and Yuna would go back to Besaid, and start a whole new life together. Lulu and Wakka would go back with them, of course, maybe even get together after a while. Kimahri would return to his mountain and his fallen kind, though she didn't know what to do herself. But Auron… where would he go?

All of a sudden, Yuna stopped her dance and gasped, staring past Rikku with a horrified expression. Turning about-face, Rikku herself gasped a little to see the legendary guardian shimmer slightly as his own pyreflies began to float lazily away from his body.

"Don't stop," he said quickly. Rikku stared at him with a hurt expression, knowing that it would be too much. She already knew that one of her friends was leaving, so why did they have to be cruel and take him too? Despite how she had acted, she knew that there was something funny about Auron from the moment they had met, and his reaction outside of the Farplane was enough to confirm her sentiments. But… an unsent?

"But I…" Yuna said quietly, staring at her guardian uncertainly.

"It's all right." He stepped forward, moving past all of them with grace and ease. Petrified, Rikku watched silently as he smiled up at Kimahri and gave him a friendly thump on the chest before moving onward again. His gaze flew over Lulu quickly, before he turned to look at the youngest girl. She stared back, a tear beginning to stretch through the bottom of her heart upwards. His gaze lingered for a moment longer then she thought it should have, or so she wished, before he strode fluidly past her. Pausing by Tidus, he seemed to choose his words carefully before opening his mouth to speak: "It's been… long enough."

He walked again, now moving by Yuna with a blank expression. Rikku had to fight so unbelievably hard to keep from running straight to him, the rip in her heart growing larger with every step he took. Holding out his sword, Auron turned to look at his companions with the saddest look Rikku had ever seen him give, his body frozen. His eye seemed to move over the lot of them one last time, before coming to rest upon Rikku. This startled her, heartbeat racing wildly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"This is your world now." With that, his form slowly faded away as the pyreflies stretched up to the endless heavens. The tears began to slowly dribble down her face as his piercing gaze faded from view. As the others silently gave their respects and stared at the place where his all-too real figure once stood, Rikku noticed a small object lying almost perfectly placed on the ground. With trembling steps, she half-crawled her way to where he had been standing and fell to her knees to retrieve the object. Her fingers grazing it gently, she picked up the only thing Auron had left behind and clutched it to her chest with a small cry.

All he had left for her to remember him by was a series of glances, fond memories, a broken heart, and his sunglasses.

_-.-.-.-_

"Memories are nice, but that's all they are." Rikku mouthed the long-used saying from her home, playing lightly with the legend's sunglasses. As she recalled what had been happening for the longest time, she realized that the phrase was wrong. Memories weren't always nice… sometimes they hurt.

As Rikku stood and wiped her tears, glancing quickly out the small window, she made herself a promise. Some time soon, she would stop by the Farplane. Her pop wouldn't approve, since she knew how the Al Bhed felt about such nonsense, but she would go anyway. Even if it was just a memory, it would be nice to see him once more. Putting aside her harbored grief, she decided to go and speak with her cousin to help ebb her sorrows.

Casting one last glance at the sunglasses perched on her bed, she went to the door and pulled it open. She had to be strong… if not for her teammates, then for his memory. "His memory…" she whispered. She seemed to be relying on the wonderful and awful things a lot. With a final tear running effortlessly down her face, she shut the door and left all thoughts of her broken heart behind her, vowing to start a new life in 'her world'. She would go on… but she would never forget.

"Memories are nice, but that's all they are."

…What if they're all you've got left?


	2. Part 2

_-giggles- I figured that, instead of making a whole new one, I should just make it chapter two instead. I swear, though, it's going to end RIGHT AT THIS CHAPTER. Not that I have anything against it, since I really do feel like I did a good job on the first part, but I already have two stories in the works and I don't need another one. The space is, of course, since I wrote this while bored or stuck on other stories so it took me a very long while to complete it. Thanks to Jaymo for the 'threat' (yes, it was terrifying) and I hope you guys like the happiness!_

_By the by, I have indeed played FFX-2 but this is how I think things should've happened between Auron and Rikku. It bothers me that S.E. couldn't even grace his departure with an FMV, so I shall defy them! -laughs maniacally-_

**_Warning: major fluff overload. Don't like, don't read._**

**Reminisce**

A sob seemingly stuck in her throat, Rikku stared up at her love with wide eyes, her heart hitting the ceiling. "Auron… where… where did you come from?" she stuttered, hands trembling as she felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. He smirked a little, the collar normally shielding his face gone. As he stepped forward, her breath hitched and her heart began skipping beats. Painfully aware of how close he was, she gasped as he took one of her arms and pulled her closer with the smirk still clear on his face.

"Does it really matter?" Rikku had never been happier to hear his coarse voice, yet she was terrified of the thought that he might just be another illusion, another memory projected with the rare ability to speak. However, illusions didn't feel as right as this, as safe and as warm. So close now that she could feel heat radiating from his body, he slid one arm around her waist and the other slipped out of his cloak to rest lightly on her shoulder.

"Auron… is it really you?" she asked quietly, one hand reaching up to gently trace the scar on his cheek. With more tender grace then she expected, he reached up and pulled her hand away and began to bend down. This is it, Rikku thought, this is the moment I've been dreaming of for over a year. He'd come back… for a day, forever, it didn't matter. Right now, all she wanted was to take hold of him and never let go.

"Hello? Miss?" she heard: a female voice, not Auron. To her dismay, she felt him pull away and stare off into the distance. Impatience seizing her, she threw her arms around him and buried her face into his red, red cloak. "Wake up, miss." Gently slipping from her arms, Rikku cried out in pain as she watched him walk away from her. He cast one last sad glance, almost as though he wished he could stay, and with heavy steps moved away from her. A tear rolled down her cheek as she watched him explode into pyreflies and float away.

"Wake up!" she heard. Rikku sat up quickly, throwing the blanket covering her off the bed. Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand, she recalled the night before and remembered that she was in the Guadosalam Inn. The dream… had been so real. Then again, she'd had many dreams before. But… "Miss, are you feeling all right?" a kindly woman asked. Feeling another tear, Rikku furiously scrubbed at it with her fist. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't cry anymore.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for waking me up," she said, trying to be as cheerful as she normally was. However, her strange dream had slightly spoiled her ruse. The woman bowed out, leaving Rikku to stare around at the room and gather up her small pack. It had been nearly a year since the battle with Sin, and everything had changed. You could see more people out on the roads, and Rikku hadn't heard from her father in a very long time. Having grown out her hair and revamping her wardrobe, most people wouldn't recognize her save for her emerald swirls of eyes and her carefree attitude. Even so, though she tried to keep it private, she visited the Farplane often to check up on how various people were doing. Her Al Bhed companions, especially Brother, looked down upon her for this and continuously told her that it was a waste of time. She never listened to him anyway.

Still, despite her constant efforts to keep it on her itinerary, the visits became more and more spaced apart. For a while, she practically lived in Guadosalam and spent an entire week there, thriving on the mere sight of her love. Then she left, coming once a month, then once every two months, and now it had been a whole five months that she hadn't shown up. It was on this visit, she promised herself with ferocity, she would say goodbye forever. He would never come back, and it would only hurt her if she didn't accept it.

Sliding the pouch onto her back and pulling out an apple, she took a bite and slipped quietly out of the inn. If necessary, she wouldn't ever come back to this town if it meant holding true to her promise. However, she just needed to see him one more time. Then, she assumed, she could go on with her life and return to being the happy-go-lucky girl she once was. With a brief stare at the mansion down the path, she walked towards the Farplane. Giving the Guado guarding the entrance a swift bow, she made her way through the hallways and up the strange stairs to pass into the realm of memories.

Ever since she'd started coming, Rikku had established several rules with herself about what she thought about on the Farplane. Due to personal reasons and a wish to never hurt her cousin's belief that _he_ might be able to come back, she never thought of Tidus or his father. Keyakku, her friend from so long ago, she never thought of either, mostly because she held on to the fear that he had more then likely never been sent. Therefore, the only people she ever really pictured were her uncle, her aunt, the Al Bhed sent by Isaaru and Dona, and the legendary guardian.

Today, she noticed as she set her pack by the entrance, the false moon up in the sky was tinted red. Did it have to do with her strange dream? Pushing the thought away, she moved towards the edge of the platform and took a seat, staring at the strange landscape. Almost without any thought at all, she saw her uncle Braska standing with his Al Bhed wife, her father's sister. A small grin on her face, she watched them smile serenely at nothing. They looked so… happy. Even if they were memories.

"Hello, Uncle," she said quietly. There was no one else in the Farplane to hear her, for once she was quite happily alone. "You seem to be doing well. I've come to you for a lot of stuff, huh? I always seem to be having the same problem, too. I can't get over anything. Pathetic, huh?" A few more moments of silence passed as she stared sadly at the remnants. That's all they were… merely remnants, shadows of a person that once existed. "I swore to myself this would be my last time here. Now that I'm down to it… it's harder then I thought it was going to be. I just want to keep you in my memory, just the way you are now… and then the hard part.

"I can't keep dwelling in the past, you know? If I do, all it's going to do is totally ruin me. People wanna see the happy, bubbly Rikku. They don't want to see me mope around, depressed and upset with the entire world. So, I guess… I guess this is goodbye. Thanks for listening to me… and say hi to everybody, okay?" Turning away, out of the corner of her eye she saw them fade away and were instantly replaced by a group of her old friends with a familiar face in the middle. "Keyakku?" she said, turning and looking at them with an incredulous face. "I… I guess you were sent. All this time… I was trying to avoid it when I could've seen you the whole time." Her resolve wavered again, heart shaking and threatening to explode. It was too bad that she find out now, she could've been just as prepared to leave. Feeling a tear dribbling down her face, she sniffed quickly and turned back for her bag, lifting out a metal plate. "We got this from the wreckage… I thought it'd be best if I left it here."

In all honesty, she was leaving it to get rid of the memories. For a long time, her backpack had been weighed down with things others called junk that held the weight of cherished moments or significant items that were for years something she barely noticed and now depended on them. Gently dropping the scrap from Home, she pulled out a flower she'd found at the Moonflow and set it on top. "I remember Pops telling me that you liked flowers," she said, an image of her aunt now floating beside Keyakku. Finally, she was brought to the most painful thing to let go. Blocking every thought from her mind, she pulled out Auron's sunglasses out of her pack and set them down, turning around without another glance at those who she was leaving behind.

"Goodbye," she said quietly. "I'll miss you all… even if you are memories." As she began to walk away, the ghostly wail normally associated with pyreflies grew louder and louder, almost as if they were calling her back. She ignored it, continuing her brisk walk as she heaved her bag onto one shoulder. With a single deep breath, she had turned her back on the place forever. Watching her walk down the stairs, the image of Keyakku gave a small smirk and turned around, staring up at the red moon. It shone more brightly then ever, and the pyreflies seemed drawn to it like moths to a flame. Braska, now standing by his wife, turned to smile brightly at a small, dark child in a blue hood. The child smiled back, a strange, dragonish smile though pure nonetheless. Nodding to each other, the Al Bhed exploded into the same fragments of light and life, floating up to gather over the bright moon. As others did the same, the moon slowly lost its coloring as a figure appeared at the very edge of the Farplane, looking down at the sunglasses lying upside-down on the ground. Tentatively taking a step, the figure passed through the invisible barrier between life and death and set foot on the strange earth. Relishing life again, the figure bent down and picked up the remnants Rikku had left behind and set off down the stairs to follow her.

Rikku was still biting back tears, clenching the straps of her pack with more ferocity then intended. She ran one hand along the wall, knowing that she would never see them again. In the words of one man, 'she did not belong there'. Feeling the rip stretching across her heart grow even larger, the hall echoed with her footsteps. However… now that she thought about it, there was more then one set of footsteps. Who was following her? Not strong enough to turn around and act like she had no cares in the world, she merely quickened her pace and screwed her eyes shut. The footsteps behind her grew faster as well, until finally she felt something catch her arm and whirl her around. Closing her eyes tighter, she made to get away and struggle out of her captor's grip, but her new preoccupation made her tears begin to slip down her nose. She hung her head, relaxing until the person dropped his grip on her arm.

"Show me your face," she heard. Breath hitching, she froze. She had not just heard… could she have? "Look at me," the gruff voice stated. Rikku didn't dare to open her eyes, but just to test him, she lifted her head and turned it to face the direction she assumed his head was. To her embarrassment, she felt a sob rising in her throat as the tears still flowed down her face. The voice chuckled, a deep and throaty sound that not many people had heard. "You are supposed to open your eyes." Feeling a strange material brush her face, she finally let them slide open a bit and, gasping, stared at what she saw. In front of her directly was a black glove, using a few fingers to push strands of hair out of her face, and the glove belonged to a hand, and that to an arm. Following the path upwards, over the red cloth material and past the collar hiding his face, Rikku was, for the first time, truly looking into Auron's face.

"…An illusion," she said quietly, though her heart didn't believe a word of it. "You're not really here, and I'll wake up from this dream in a while." While she spoke, she let her hand trace everything she found familiar about the legendary guardian: his armor, the trim on his cloak, the snaps on his collar, finally taking the position it had in her dream.

"You don't seem to think so," Auron said bluntly, feeling her drag one finger down his cheek as gently as she could.

"I never said anything to you… but…" she looked into his eye, sunglasses clenched in his hand rather then on his face. "You knew the whole time, didn't you?" He nodded, looking almost pleased with himself.

"You aren't incredibly difficult to read." She giggled a little, sounding almost exactly like her old self. "…There," he said quietly. Cocking her head, she stared up at him with a puzzled expression. "I watched you whenever you came here… every time. Each time you came, you never smiled. I only saw these." He cupped her cheek gently, thumb wiping at what remained of her sobs. Closing her eyes when he touched her face, she leaned in to his gentle caress and cherished the moment as her heart skipped beats.

"It… it really is you," she cried, throwing her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest. In that position, she could feel his chest heave as he sighed deeply and put his arm around her, embracing her as best he could from his height. Rikku, absolutely loving the sound of his breathing, started a little as she heard a few snaps and something fall to the ground. Assuming it was her pack, she closed her eyes and snuggled in tighter. "E muja oui," she said quietly. "E ymfyoc tet." Eyes flickering open, she gasped as she heard the last thing she expected echoing out from his chest. He took advantage of that, his left arm slipping out of his cloak to stroke her cheek.

"I don't speak that language, you know," he said with a small smile. Drawing her closer, he tilted her head upwards for her to see that it was his collar that had fallen onto the ground; she could clearly see his entire face. "I may not speak it," Auron whispered, lowering his head so they were only inches apart, "but I understood everything you said." With that, in the middle of Guadosalam in the early morning, even Rikku's wildest fantasies were blown away with a single touch of lips. Nothing could compare, even every good feeling she'd ever experienced, to that moment. She threw her arms around his neck, now knowing that he truly was back. His touch was proof enough, and the look in his eyes before he kissed her, but only one thing had truly proven what she was feeling now wasn't a simple dream that would fade away come morning. She pulled away lightly, staring happily up at him.

"Something on my face?" he asked with a smirk. Shaking her head, Rikku was overcome by a wave of fevered passion and pulled him back down for another kiss. The action was addictive, yet perfect in every way. She could only imagine the others' reactions when she showed them that the legendary guardian had returned, and for good this time. Even after they left the town, fingers entwined, the pure and perfect sound of Auron's heartbeat rang in her ears. If nothing else, that rhythmic sound had truly shown her that he was here and here for good. In her opinion, she thought as he pushed the sunglasses back on his face and snapped the collar back on, stroking her hair all the while, to her there was no better sound on Spira.

_**Told you.**_

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and stuff, I'm glad I wasn't set on fire because of the really controversial pairing (flames. Who needs 'em?), and I really would like to say that I have no idea what possessed me to write something so… cute. Hope I kept Auron in-character (since that is much harder then it looks) and things like that; thanks again to the reviewers! I'm sure, this probably isn't as good as the first one, but I tried writing something happy and if it came out like chocobo dookie then I apologize. If need be, you can completely ignore this chapter and pretend it never happened. M'kay?**

**About Rikku's dream, since I didn't put it in the story, it was a sort of preliminary way for Rikku and Auron's spirit to connect before he finally found a way to come back. XD I've been wanting him to come back forever, but since Square isn't gonna do anything about it, then I will! Hooray for determination!**

_Grieverwings_

_**Al Bhed**_

_**E muja oui- I love you**_

_**E ymfyoc tet- I always did**_


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